Invictus
by bombalurima
Summary: FULL SUMMARY INSIDE-Tey, the son of Fire Lord Zuko and Mai, has been living with Aang and Katara ever since a tragic accident took his family. Now, the Fire Sages have demanded he take his place on the throne. Tey flees, and embarks on a journey...
1. Intro

**_A/N: This story is going to swallow me up and utterly consume me. Just sayin' that now._**

**_Over at the KF forums, a friend of mine and I were talking about what we think the mini-series 'Legend of Korra' has in store for us. Spruce mentioned he always liked the idea that the current heir to the Fire Nation throne is missing or somethin of the like, and that the new Avatar Korra must go on a journey to find him/her and restore them to the throne. So I got to thinking..._**

**_And this is the result. _**

**_This is only the summary (and a bad one at that), but I hope you like the idea for the story anyway-expect an update quite soon! _**

* * *

_It started as an ordinary, lovely spring day in the Fire Nation. The Lady Mai kissed her husband goodbye, wishing him luck at his all-day meeting, before taking their two young sons, Kozu and Ryu, outside to play in the gardens. The newborn prince, Teyaki, was left indoors with his great-uncle Iroh, as both were feeling a tad sick. Horror strikes that same day-the Fire Lady and her two sons are found brutally murdered, their bodies burned nearly beyond recognition, and no sign or evidence as to just who has committed the unspeakable deed. Rumors have been swirling for some time about a band of Ozai supporters rallying together to accomplish an unknown goal, but could the atrocious murder really have been performed by them? Or was it someone else entirely?_

_No matter what the case is, Fire Lord Zuko is ripped out by the seams holding him to the earth. He quickly begins a descent into despair, and later on, into madness, stricken to the core at the loss and barely able to take care of himself, let alone a young baby son (of whom he no longer sees anymore) and an entire nation._

_Desperate to salvage their nation, the Fire Sages meet with Avatar Aang and Iroh himself to discuss matters-and a decision is reached. Aang himself takes baby Tey with him back to his home in the Eastern Air Temple, home to his wife Katara and their own newborn son, Tenzin. There, Tey is raised as one of their own, unaware of the father he has back in the Fire Nation slipping into insanity and ignorant of his position of the true heir to the throne._

_Aang has always meant to tell his adoptive son of his true birth family...but has somehow, been unable to do so. On Tey's sixteenth birthday, the Fire Sages demand that Aang reveal his birth right, and that Tey return to the Fire Nation to take the throne in his father's (now judged of being incapable of ruling) place. Tey, horrified by the unexpected realization, runs away from home...and somehow, his footsteps, the desperate evasions he takes to avoid all that are looking for him (among them the Fire Sages, his adoptive family, and all those who wish him dead), start to mirror that of his father Zuko's, so many years ago. Along his journey, Tey begins to discover more and more about the family he never had...and the future that he has to embrace._


	2. Prologue

**_Prologue_**

_It did not take the man long to notice that he was being followed._

The sheets of rain falling around him, an unfortunate aspect of all Fire Nation winters, had no doubt delayed his observation of the fact that he had a pursuer, but nevertheless, it was noted. This wouldn't do.

The man stopped mid-step, halting in the middle of the otherwise deserted road, a special back route of his that he took. Though it was difficult to tell over the sound of the rain, he could safely assume that his follower had stopped as well, no doubt wondering just what this sudden stand-still was about.

The pursuer did not have time to ponder the thought. In about ten seconds, he was dead.

The man did not even stop to examine the damage that had been done. He had other, far more important things to focus on. He left the body behind him as he set off down the road again, at a far brisker pace.

It wasn't long before he came to a hollow of sorts, in which there stood a single building. It was a filthy, decrepit little place, the walls starting to crumble and the entire formation itself halfway sunk into the thick mud surrounding it.

The man plowed through the muck, dirt splattering his legs up to his knees, and approached the tiny door. He reached up and rapped sharply on the wooden surface, four times in rapid succession.

There was a clattering noise, a scraping sound, and the door opened, just enough for him to slip inside. The man entered, and the door snapped shut behind him.

Inside, a meeting of sorts was underway. A group of men sat around a table that barely fit inside the room it was contained in. They had been holding a conversation of sorts before the man arrived, and they all looked up upon his entrance.

"It's about time, Natsuo!" remarked the man who had let him inside. "We thought you had missed the meeting."

"No, no…" Natsuo shook his head. "I was merely delayed."

"Delayed?" A large man at the table with an impressive set of sideburns looked almost entertained. "By what?"

"A spy," Natsuo answered calmly, pushing the hood of his cloak back to reveal a jagged face, one that looked as if something had taken a chisel to a rock face and randomly smashed it in, before labeling it as this man's head. His mouth was twisted, a corner of it pulled down into a permanent grimace.

He seated himself at the table, the light from the small candles in the room flickering eerily on his disfigured face.

"A spy?" Another man frowned. "One of the Fire Lord's?"

"It has to be," The man who had let Natsuo in strode over and took a seat as well. "Who else could it have been?"

"That's a bad sign, then," The oldest man present, his face wrinkled and his hair snow-white spoke in a slow voice. "This is the closest rebel alliance to the Capital City. If he's sending out spies…"

"Spy or not, he was taken care of," Natsuo spoke coolly, folding his hands in front of him. "We do not need to worry about him. I believe it's time we started the meeting."

"Natsuo is right," The man who had been guarding the door nodded.

"What is there to talk about?" snorted the man with the sideburns. "Kago failed in his mission…that's all that matters."

"Kago was far too rash in his decision-making," the oldest member spoke again, taking the moment to rub at his bad knee. "If he had waited just a moment longer, the Fire Lord would have had his back turned, and success would have been handed to him on a silver platter."

"I don't believe that's true," The man at the door shook his head. "His wife…the Fire Lady is something else entirely. _She's _more of a concern to us than half of those bodyguards are."

"And not a bad sight to look at, eh?" One man in the corner raised his drink in a mock-toast, a roughish grin on his face. "Can't say I question our noble Fire Lord for that one. _I _certainly wouldn't turn her out of my bed."

There was a low ripple of laughter and brutish agreement—talking about the Fire Lady in such a way was, of course, highly degrading, but that mattered not a bit here in their private meeting.

"The Fire Lady aside…" Natsuo moved the conversation back onto a topic he had an interest in discussing—as lovely as the Lady Mai was, that was not why they were holding this gathering. "Kago's failed assassination attempt was another mishap among many before him. We are not the first group who would like to see the Fire Lord fall, and we are certainly not the last. We have a lead however—our location next to the Capital City puts us at both an advantage and a disadvantage. It is up to us entirely, however, to put this site into our own benefit."

"Natsuo speaks the truth," The old man nodded. "During my time in the war, we used our location to the best of our advantage. Our spot here is a prime one—we do, however, need to use it to the best of our abilities."

"What are you suggesting, Shu?" The man at the door glanced towards the elder, who leaned forward, whispering to the others in a low voice.

"The time has come for _action, _my friends. We can no longer accept poorly executed, and easily foiled assassination attempts. We can no longer send soloists out on such difficult tasks. For many long years now, we have suffered under the rule of a weak, cowardly lord who is not worthy to lick the dirt off of his father's, his grandfather's, or his great-grandfather's shoes. Fire Lord? I see no Fire Lord. He is merely a child, an upstart, bratty child that only received the throne with the Avatar's assistance. I say we no longer waste time in our little meetings griping and wasting times, plotting useless and hopeless schemes…it is time we struck, and struck hard."

The others listened to the old war veteran in silence, each captivated by his motivating words. None of them were as a quite rebel against the Fire Lord as Shu was—but when he spoke, they all took notice. He lit a fire inside of them, a fire that was striking up in the hearts of other revolutionaries across the nation, a burning flame that would not be quenched until the day Zuko fell and his father took his rightful place back on the throne that had been stolen from him.

"Shu…" Natsuo, the only one who had listened to the old man's speech and not felt a stirring of rage in his gut, leaned back in his seat carelessly as he asked, "Your speech is all well and good. Your ability to provoke raw emotion in others is infallible. But I'm curious…just what 'action' do you speak of?"

The other men swiveled their heads to stare at the old man, who did not look the slightest bit unruffled at the words. Rather, he too sat back, and smirked, the cold, cruel smile of a person who has waited years for a bittersweet victory, and is close enough to taste it.

"Fire Lord Zuko is a fool," Shu announced to his followers. "He wears his heart on his sleeve, and everyone knows that. His love for his wife and children is downright sickening—all those who claim that it is beautiful need to be reminded once again of what true beauty is."

A collected nod.

"So what do we do to a man who so proudly displays his heart? We tear it out, of course. It makes for such an easy target."

The men all exchanged looks—not many of them were exactly sure as to what the old man was trying to say.

One man, however, understood perfectly.

"What do you think the outcome would be?" Natsuo inquired carefully.

"Utter despair," Shu shrugged, a cruel gleam in his beetle-black eyes. "The Fire Lord would no doubt sink into grief. Perhaps even into madness. It is certainly not out of the realm of possibility."

"Shu, forgive me…" A different man shook his head. "But I'm not entirely sure I understand what you're imposing here."

"Oh, but you will…." The old man got to his feet, gesturing for Natsuo to follow him, feeling the most energetic that he had in years. "You certainly will."

He and the other man exited out into the pouring rain, leaving the others to sit in bewildered silence for a minute.

"That was about as clear as mud," The man with sideburns muttered ruefully, taking a sip of his drink.

"It must be a truly masterful plan, if Shu doesn't want to share it with the rest of us," Another man pointed out sagely.

"It must involve the Royal Family somehow," The man who stood watch over the door got to his feet with a sigh. "Though what about them, I can't imagine…"

"That Fire Lady," The man who had proposed a toast to her earlier grinned, looking up from his drink. "Such a lovely woman. Don't you all agree?"


	3. Chapter 1

**Three Months Later**

Springtime in the Fire Nation was one of the most extraordinarily wonderful sights in the entire world. The summers were blistering hot, the autumn's humid one day and windy the next. It never stopped raining in the wintertime.

But springtime was beautiful. The countryside shed the wet, chilly gray cloak it had worn for months, and put on a new dress, one woven with warmth and color.

New life burst forth, flowers blossoming, buds sprouting on the trees, a fresh glow of green and other bright colors washing over the landscape, sweet enough to nearly taste.

The Fire Lord could think of only sight that was lovelier.

* * *

Waking up to see Mai beside him never failed to send a small thrill of pure joy through Zuko, no matter that he had been doing just that for years now. This morning was no exception.

He reached up and stretched towards the sun shining in through the open window, its heat and light spreading through his veins like a second molten bloodstream, giving him the surge of energy that was customary for all Firebenders when they received the power of their mother source.

Once this was done, he turned to face his wife, a smile as bright as bright and as warm as the sun outside unfurling on his face.

She was still asleep, her chest rising and falling as she breathed. As carefully as he could, not wishing to wake her up just yet, Zuko traced the outline of Mai's face with his fingertips, running along her high cheekbones and full lips, a path he had ran a thousand times before and never tired of journeying.

His hand moved to the raven-black silk of her hair, and he admired the way the permanent shine in t caught the sunlight streaming in. He ran it through his fingers, the way both of them loved it, and was not surprised to hear a small, contented sigh leave Mai's mouth.

Slowly, like a curtain being pulled up, her amber eyes opened. Zuko had always loved the way they changed color, and now they were a little hazy, still a bit unfocused as they blinked a few times.

"Good morning," He breathed, planting a kiss on top of her head.

"That's a contradiction of terms," Mai grumbled, closing her eyes again.

He laughed lightly and brought his free hand down to her thigh, gently gliding it upwards to the flat plane of her stomach, letting the memories if the previous night stir up and perfume the air.

She hummed low in her throat, and he took this as an opportunity to kiss the column of her long, swan-like neck.

Mai giggled, one of the rarest, most beautiful sounds in the world, but before Zuko could continue, she bunched her fingers in his hair and brought his head up, and from there, kissed him on the lips.

"Come on." After a few moments of pure bliss, she pulled away, eyebrows raised suggestively and a smile on her face. "Let's go say good morning to the boys."

* * *

The sons of the Fire Lord and Lady were the darlings of the Fire Nation. Prince Kozu was the heir to the throne, and at just under three years of age, was already quite the hell-raiser. Loud, stubborn, and positively fearless, his little shenanigans never failed to delight the ladies at court, as well as the close friends of the royal family.

Ryu, scarcely a year younger than his brother, was quite the opposite. He was not half as vocal as Kozu was, but was already proving to be a bright, inquisitive child. He didn't have much of a vocabulary, but what words he _did _know were so often repeated that it drove his brother halfway crazy.

Of course, there was another addition to their family—but Teyaki was not even a year old yet. He, his mother, and his Aunt Katara often spent many long afternoons outdoors or in the children's playroom, where he was steadily learning how to walk, often egged on by Kozu, who seemed to view it as his personal responsibility to supervise his brothers.

It came as no surprise to Zuko and Mai to hear, as they approach their eldest son's bedroom, the sound of two tiny voices and a lower, quite familiar one from inside. Iroh was visiting from Ba Sing Se, and he loved nothing better than visiting with his little grand-nephews. They, in turn, adored the old man.

"How long do you think they've been talking?" Zuko asked his wife as they stopped outside the door.

"No doubt for a long time. You know how Ryu loves for people to read to him. He probably handed Iroh a book the moment he stepped in to say good morning," Mai answered with a small smile. Tucked against her was her youngest son Tey, who was still halfway asleep. He blinked sleepily at his father when Zuko, unable to resist, pressed a kiss to his tiny nose, and turned his little face so it was more so pressed against his mother's neck.

Mai pushed open the door to Kozu's room, where a loud shriek of, "MAMA!" rang from inside. Instantly, the small but forceful body of her oldest son rammed into her, arms clenching around her thighs. Ryu, who had been sitting next to his great-uncle on his bed, a picture book out in front of them, also leaped to the floor and over to his mother, though at a bit more unsteady of a pace than his brother.

"Good morning," Mai attempted a sort of one-armed hug as she smiled at her older boys, still keeping Tey nestled securely in the crook of her arm.

"Ah!" Iroh exclaimed with undisguised delight when he caught sight of Tey. "There's my little tea-maker now!"

"Uncle…" Zuko sighed, half-exasperated, half-amused as he too hugged his sons. "I've already told you before. You're _not _taking Tey back to Ba Sing Se with you and turning him into your apprentice."

"But I am in need of one!" Iroh protested, getting to his feet. "Who is going to run the shop once I am gone?"

Zuko opened his mouth to snap something back, but his wife reached over and laid her free hand on his arm, halting him in his tracks.

"I think," Mai suggested, a smirk twitching at the corners of her mouth, "That this would be better off discussed over breakfast."

"Breakfast is a marvelous idea," Iroh insisted, before giving his nephew a reassuring pat on the back. "I have no worries that you will soon find that Tey's destiny lies in the art of tea-making, Zuko. I am sure of it."

"Tey will be whatever he wants to be," Zuko insisted hotly, picking up Ryu, who had been plucking at his hand.

"Very well," Iroh agreed cheerfully enough. "But I'm sure you will find in time that he would make a fine apprentice for me."

Zuko only sighed.

* * *

_Right down the street from the palace, a man stood waiting in a back alleyway._

_He turned at the sound of footsteps—and smiled when he caught sight of the familiar cloak and the slight limp._

_"You took your time," He remarked in a tone that barely concealed his obvious annoyance._

_"My son was born only last night. It was crucial that I stayed, at least for a little while."_

_"No matter," The other man shrugged it off. "What is important though is if you're prepared."_

_"Of course I am," The other snapped. "I've been readying myself for this day for months, haven't I?"_

_"Well, yes…but this will stand as one of the most horrifying events in Fire Nation history. I wouldn't want you to be caught unawares."_

_"There's nothing to fear. I'll meet you on the ship by noon."_

_"Very well. Good luck."_

_The two exchanged looks, a brief moment of anticipation passing between them, before parting ways._

_One man began heading for the outskirts of the city—the other started right on his way to the royal palace._


	4. Chapter 2

_A/N: No reviews yet?_

* * *

"Dat?" Ryu demanded, pointing to a large vase of lilies that the servants had brought in a moment ago that had just been picked to celebrate the nature flourishing outside. This was easily the little boy's favorite word—every time he did not know what an object was; he asked the customary question word until he got an answer.

"Flowers," Mai informed him, standing up from the table, where she and her family had just finished breakfast. She wore one of the flowers tucked behind her ear, the vibrant red color contrasting beautifully with her pale skin and dark hair.

"Flahs," Ryu repeated, reaching with tiny groping hands towards his prize.

"Oh, no you don't," Zuko plucked his son up before he could cause a mess. "You'll have plenty of flowers to pick outside with your mother."

Zuko had a long meeting to get to, about something concerning trade with Ba Sing Se. It was trivial, and rather boring, but he supposed it was necessary. Mai was the lucky one and got to take their boys outside to play in the garden.

"Try not to have _too _much fun at the meeting," Mai advised him with a smirk, taking Ryu from him and cradling him against her.

"I'll do my best," Zuko sighed, heaving a small, reluctant smile for his wife's sake.

She smiled softly, and planted a kiss as equally tender on his lips. He buried his face in the crook of her neck for a moment, inhaling her scent, taking what parts of her that he could to the meeting with him—surely the only thing that would help him survive through it.

"I'll see you later," Mai promised him, as Kozu, now done with his breakfast, began to tug impatiently on her sleeve, eager to be outside.

"Yes…later," Zuko whispered back, leaning his forehead against her's, just for a moment.

She smiled once more, and gently herded Kozu outside, still carrying Ryu. The little boy waved over his mother's shoulder at his father, and Zuko beamed.

"If you don't mind, Zuko…" Iroh got to his feet now, cradling baby Teyaki. "Tey and I are going to stay indoors and get a bit of a nap…neither of us are feeling our best."

Zuko had to agree with this, as both his uncle and his son had been feeling a little under the weather lately. It would do them each some good to get a little rest.

"All right," He nodded. "I'll see you both later then."

He stopped to drop a kiss onto Tey's tiny head, and then headed off to his meeting, thoughts of his beloved family still dancing in his mind.

Not one, not Zuko as he headed to his meeting, not Iroh as he settled down for a brief rest with his youngest great-nephew, and not Mai, as she brought her little ones out into the bright, sunny world, had any idea what was about to unfold.

* * *

The assassin waited. He was a patient man, and he had chosen what was sure to be a prime location for the task he had been sent to complete. The palace gardens were large, abundant in beautiful flowers and shrubberies, especially now that spring time had arrived. The assassin crouched low in a bush, hardly daring to breathe.

There. Walking down the path. They were coming.

A little boy's happy shouts were what the assassin heard first from his position. A tiny, dark-haired thing came trotting down the path on unsteady feet, delighted to be out in the world and thrilled to be able to experience it all on his own stubby little legs.

Behind him strolled the Fire Lady, holding the other, smaller boy. She truly was a stunning woman, even the man in the bushes, who was about to commit the unthinkable, could appreciate that. Perhaps, given the circumstances, he might have time to…

No. Lust was an emotion best not to toy with now. He had work to do.

He waited until the Lady sat on a bench, holding her little boy securely in her lap, as the older one eagerly produced a bag that, upon being emptied, revealed a multitude of toy soldiers. Diligently and quite business-like for someone so young, the boy began setting his little army up. His game was just about to begin.

The assassin could have laughed at the irony.

* * *

It was nearing time for lunch. The Fire Lord's council would be momentarily adjourned so they could all step out to have a bite to eat, and Zuko would, of course, be eating it with his family. Iroh and Tey were both up and alert, sitting at a table already set up outside with Zuko and waiting for the rest of their family to arrive.

The servant striding out to the gardens now had been sent to inform the Lady Mai that it was time for lunch. It was common knowledge that she disliked to be late for anything, including lunches with her family.

The gardens were so big; the servant couldn't help but huff as he strode along the path. It might take him a while to find her. Just as he was considering either call out to her or finding someone else to aid help, a strong, terrible smell wafted into his nostrils.

The servant choked, and in a moment, doubled over. The smell was _horrid, _easily the most disgusting, vile thing he had ever encountered in his entire life. He clamped his hands over his mouth and nose, eyes watering with the stench as he called in a muffled voice, _"My lady?"_

He dared to shuffle a bit more along the path, towards one of the small courtyards that dotted the entire garden here and there. As he grew closer, the aroma grew fouler, and it was all he could do not to vomit up his breakfast as he continued to plow on.

"_My lady?"_

He rounded the corner—and his eyes fell upon just what had been causing the smell.

He could not hold back the surge this time—or the scream that followed afterwards.

* * *

"_Where is she? Where's my wife? WHERE'S MY FAMILY?"_

The servants, among them the original man who had discovered the source of his commotion, were all making attempts to hold the Fire Lord back. He could not—he simply _could not—_venture outside and see for himself just what had happened.

"_GET OFF OF ME!"_

A blast of heat, and the servants cowed, unable to touch him now. The Fire Lord ran outside and down the garden path, a cluster of attendants, as well as his uncle, right at his heels.

He too caught the scent in the air, a small that, unlike his servants, he could identify. The rotten aroma of burnt hair. The oddly sweet smell of burnt flesh.

The servants made one last desperate lunge to hold him back—but he was quicker. Zuko entered the courtyard.

The sound the Fire Lord made then was unalike nothing none of them had ever heard, or would ever hear again in their lifetimes. It was a howl, but an animal dying a long, slow, torturous death would have made a sound far more dignified. He fell to his knees and lost the breakfast he had eaten with his family, the most awful, racking noises and sobs coursing through him. Most of the servants lost their own meals.

Iroh however, found he could do neither, but rather, he seemed capable of only one thing—staring, in the sheerest, most all-consuming horror he had ever experienced, at three corpses.

But they couldn't have been human. The charred, disfigured remains…the two little ones could have been small boys only hours ago. The larger one could not have been a beautiful woman, the loveliest in the nation, the Fire Lady herself.

But they had been. Truthfully, Iroh noted somewhere in the back of his frozen mind, there was only one thing that ever suggested that these three corpses had been the living beings of Mai, Kozu, and Ryu once.

What had once been the Fire Lady had her arms wrapped around her boys, one nestled in each arm. Had she crawled, burning alive towards the bodies of her son and pulled them to her? Had she died protecting them? Had she held them close, the little people that she had given life to, whispered a prayer, and died alongside them then?

Iroh did not know. No one ever would.

Up above them, the sun shone on a beautiful spring day, an ever-present shining light.


	5. Chapter 3

The entire nation went into mourning.

For a week afterwards, white was donned, the Fire Nation's color of sorrow. Wreathes of flower were hung on doors, candles lit and always burning in memory, and grief clung to the very atmosphere like a heavy shroud that simply no one could move. The lovely spring weather, which just a week ago had been welcome, a cause for delight and celebration, now seemed to be mocking the nation in their remorse, none more so the Fire Lord himself.

He holed himself up in his rooms, drew the blinds down on the windows to block the sunlight, and refused to let anyone inside, not even his uncle. The servants wanted to come inside and clean the room, and wanted to change the sheets on the bed—but that would never happen. The Fire Lady's scent still clung to the sheets, and therefore, Fire Lord Zuko clung to them.

Iroh could not speak to him—he tried talking to him through the door, urging him to let him inside to talk, but he received no response. There was talk of breaking the door down, but for whatever reason, the idea was scrapped. The retired general became greatly worried for his nephew's health. Hoarded up in his chambers like that, not eating a bite, and probably not getting any sleep either, would slowly but surely crumble him.

But the Fire Lord's health was not the only concern.

The Fire Sages called a meeting, that of which both Iroh and Avatar Aang were invited to. Aang flew in from the Eastern Air Temple (of which he now lived at) with a heavy heart. He had grown to love Mai, and of course, to love her and Zuko's children very much. They had been young little boys, completely innocent of any crime. Yet, they had burned.

The second he had heard the news, he had gathered his baby son Tenzin in his arms and held onto him like he was the only thing anchoring him to the world. He held Katara too, letting her sob onto his shoulder, his own mind overcome with a paralyzing numbness.

Later, once Katara was finally asleep, tear tracks still visible on her face, he got up and walked around the Temple for a bit, merely trying to put his scrambled thoughts back together. They repaired the wrong way—and before he knew it, sobs of his own were breaking free.

* * *

He had not been entirely unsurprised when the summons from the Fire Sages came. He was one of Zuko's best friends after all, and the Avatar besides. He had to attend this meeting, without question. Aang kissed Katara and Tenzin goodbye, and then flew off on Appa towards the Fire Nation.

He was here now, sitting around a table with all of the Fire Sages and Iroh, all of whom looked grave. They had already discussed Zuko's current condition, and had come to a mutual agreement that their efforts would be redoubled to talk to him, and that a team of only the most experienced healers in the land would be summoned to examine him.

"That brings us to our next matter of business…" The Head Sage sighed, resting his chin on the back of his hands. "The child. What is to become of him?"

"I believe that-" One of the other sages began to speak, but was interrupted by Aang, who had jumped at one word.

"What…_child?" _The bewildered Avatar asked. "I thought that they all…I thought they had all…"

"Kozu and Ryu perished with Mai," Iroh spoke in a voice weighted down with grief, "But Teyaki…he was inside with me."

"He's _alive?" _Aang breathed the question, hardly daring to believe it. The message he had been sent had only informed him of the deaths of the princes—he had assumed that it meant all three of them.

"Yes, yes, he's alive," A sour-faced old man huffed, shooting the Avatar a disdainful look. "But therein lies the problem…we need to decide what's to become of the boy."

"Surely, he must stay here in the Fire Nation," Another man said, and at this, Aang spoke up once again.

"Why wouldn't he stay here?"

"It is…complicated, Aang," Iroh sighed. "The Sages and I both fear that Zuko, given his condition…might not be able to take care of his son. We are trying to determine what will happen to Teyaki until his father is able-bodied and minded once again."

"Who knows how long that could take?" The sour-faced Sage from earlier demanded. "Who is going to take care of the child in the meantime?" He turned to face Iroh and asked, "What about you, General Iroh? Could you take the baby into your care for the time being?"

"I feel as if he should remain here in the Fire Nation," A long-nosed man spoke in a slow drone of a voice. "We will be able to keep an eye on him then."

"But suppose the assassin returns?" Another man piped up. "What if he comes back to 'finish the job?'"

"An unlikely event…"

"No…" Iroh shook his head slowly. "He has a fair point. It seems to me as if the assassin, whoever they were, had a solid goal in mind—to kill the entire Royal Family except for Zuko. They almost succeeded. I think it is very likely that someone may return to complete his task."

"Therefore, the boy should be moved…" A sage stroked his heavy white beard, nodding as he contemplated. "Until he is older, at an appropriate age to take the throne. Perhaps we could send him to a wealthy family in the countryside?"

Talk broke out amongst the sages, plans and schemes and ideas, all of which sounded like meaningless babble in the young Avatar's ears. In his mind's eyes, all he could see was Tey, dark-haired and so tiny, curled up like a little glow-worm next to his own son, Tenzin. The two boys had been born within a month of one another. Their mothers had made jokes throughout their pregnancies about how they would become best friends.

And here these men were, arguing over the fate of a small child, treating it as more politics, as simple business, as opposed to the life of an actual human being. Without thinking, Aang blurted out what he knew, subconsciously, he had to do.

"I'll take him."

A hush fell over the room, followed by a long, pregnant pause, in which quite a few pairs of eyes darted over to Aang, wide with disbelief. For his credit, the Avatar did not flinch, but held their gazes as best as he could.

"You…take Tey?" Iroh spoke first.

"Yes," Aang nodded firmly. "My wife and I…we just had our first child, but we'd welcome another addition to the family. We can raise him as one of our own. We'll bring him up as we intend to bring our own children up. He won't spend a day unloved."

At this, Iroh, for the first time in days, managed a smile. He had been willing to take Tey himself, if that was what it came down to…but he found that he liked this idea better.

The Fire Sages muttered to one another for a few moments, heads shaking, heads nodding, before finally, they turned to face Aang.

"Very well, Avatar Aang…very well. Let's go with this idea of yours. Take the child, raise him as your own. Tell him _nothing _about his true identity—the less he knows, the better. In due time, we will inform you that we are in need of him."

Aang hesitated, just for a moment. Could he honestly take his best friend's child, raise him as his own, and then hand him back to the Fire Sages for a destiny that Tey had no idea that he held? He swallowed hard, and then thought about the alternative solution.

He knew what the right decision was.

* * *

Aang arrived at his home in the Eastern Air Temples in the middle of the night. A cool breeze was blowing, and the light scent of the flowers that his wife liked to hang around the temple gently passed over him, a sure sign that he was back home again. He carefully secured the little bundle in his arms.

"Aang!" Katara suddenly appeared, her hair loose and clad in a nightgown, as she ran out from the hallway that led to their bedroom and up to her husband.

The sound of her voice caused a feeling in Aang that could be described as a giant weight being lifted off of his chest—he should have known that she would be up waiting for him.

However, just before Katara threw her arms around him, Aang held up a warning hand. She halted in her tracks, obviously confused.

"Katara…" Aang sighed, "Please….don't lose your head over this."

"Aang, what-"

Katara's words caught in her throat when she caught sight of what Aang was presenting to her, the bundle that he had been carrying. Out poked a little face, eyes shut tight with sleep, eyes that Katara knew, once they were open, would be purest, brightest gold. She had seen this little face, had held this little body…she had known him when he was nothing more than a bump in his mother's belly.

"Aang…" She stared first at the baby and then up at her husband, blue eyes wide with shock. "I thought…didn't they all…"

"He wasn't outside with Mai and the other two boys," Aang responded, trying desperately to read her facial expressions in the dark. "He had been inside with Iroh when…when it happened."

When Katara remained silent, Aang, terrified that she might be silently brewing up her rage, said quickly, "I couldn't just leave him there, Katara! The Fire Sages…they decided Zuko's incapable of taking care of a child at the time, and they're right. They were making other plans for Tey…I just…I couldn't…he deserves to grow up in a loving family, and I know we just had Tenzin, but I really think-"

"Stop." Katara pressed his index finger to his lips. He watched her with some trepidation, using the strong, silent bond the two shared to try and communicate with her, to try and make her understand why he had did what he had done…

Without another word, Katara gently took the bundled-up baby out of her husband's arms. The loss of the tiny, yet solid and warm shape in his embrace took Aang a bit aback—but not half as much as what his wife did next.

She cradled Tey against her chest, holding him to her just as she did her own son, and whispered in a sweet, low voice to him, "Let's find you a proper bed, sweetheart."

Katara then headed off in the direction of the bedrooms—but she looked over her shoulder and smiled at Aang, a small, quietly confident smile that banished all traces of worry that had been clinging to his mind. There were tears in her blue eyes.

Aang wiped his own as he patted Appa goodnight, and then followed his wife to help her settle the baby down. He need not have worried. Tey had a home now.


	6. Chapter 4

_A/N: Overall, I'm very pleased with how this one turned out, given the rough start it had.  
This chapter has three main parts-it's an insight into Tey's life among the Kataang Klan, his discovery of his Firebending, and a small chunk of Zuko post-events. It was tough to write him insane...but it's going to be a recurring thing, so I'd best get used to it now. I hope I did it justice. Reviews are very much appreciated!_

* * *

Tey wove so flawlessly into Aang and Katara's lives, it soon became impossible for them to detect the threads that tied him into another life and into another family.

He became as a good as Tenzin's twin brother, the two boys did not spend a day out of each other's presence, and as such, grew up to became two of a kind, two peas in a pod, the utter joy of both their parents.

Of course, Tenzin and Tey were not the only two. Aang and Katara added onto to their family, and the oldest boys became elder brothers beloved by all their little siblings. Not one of them ever thought that their oldest brother might not be, in fact, from a different family.

But the older he got, the easier it was to spot the difference between him and the others. All of Aang and Katara's children had wide eyes, either blue or gray in color, but Tey had narrower, bright gold ones that tended to change shades as his mother's had, from honey to amber to a near-silver color and back again.

His thick hair was darker too, impossibly black and gleaming as Mai's had once been, his skin paler than that of his sibling's. Before too long, it became blatantly obvious—this child, no matter how nicely so he fit into their family, had came from somewhere else.

But none of the other children raised questions about it. And all of Aang and Katara's close friends knew full well about the adoption that had been made.

Toph, who had married The Duke and was now the mother of her own little brood, was a frequent visitor in their household along with her husband and children. The circumstances that had led to Tey's adoption into the family had shaken her to her core, but she whole-heartedly supported his induction into their unit.

"You're doing what's best for him, Aang," She assured her old friend, watching Tey as he romped and played with his siblings and her own children. Already, even though he was the same age as Tenzin, he was bigger and stronger. "Just look at him with the rest of the kids! Looks aside, no one would ever suspect that he wasn't really a part of your family—including Tey."

Aang swallowed and nodded once, wanting desperately to believe her. And if it hadn't been for a certain event that had taken place when Tey was six years old, he might have.

* * *

"Daddy! DADDY! Look!"

Tey's ecstatic shout came from the other side of the temple floor, and Aang almost jumped ten feet in the air. He had been teaching Tenzin a minor Airbending move, now that the boy had shown he had inherited the talent from his father—so the shout from his oldest son came as a definite shock.

He looked up just in time to see the dark-haired boy running pell-mell across the floor, his arms outstretched in front of him and his hands cupped. Aang felt a jolt of recognition hit him—unless he was mistaken…

Tey came to a halt in front of him, and hoisted his hands upwards.

"Look, Daddy! Look what I can do!"

Aang glanced downwards—and his fears were confirmed. Resting inside the little boys cupped palms, burning merrily away, was a small flame. It was not much—but it was enough.

"Wow!" Tenzin's storm-gray eyes grew enormous as he ogled at his brother's newfound gift. "That's so _cool, _Tey! You're a Bender like me and Daddy!"

Tey beamed, his heart full to bursting with joy and pride. He had been a little upset when Tenzin had been discovered as an Airbender—and now, here he was with his own special gift. The little flame felt warm and [i]alive[/i] in his hands, like a tiny heartbeat. It felt like something he had been searching for, a missing part of himself that he was just now discovering.

He looked up at Aang with wide, tentative gold eyes as he asked carefully, "Do…do you like it, Daddy?"

"Yes," Aang swallowed, but managed a smile for Tey. "Yes, it's great, Tey! I…I can teach you Firebending…if you'd like."

Tey gasped and lowered his hands, not seeming to realize that the fire sputtered out when he did so.

"You _would?_ Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

He flung his arms around his father, and Aang, oddly enough, felt tears come to his eyes. He didn't know why they were there, but he did his best to keep them from flowing as he returned Tey's hug.

"Come on, Tey!" Tenzin suddenly pulled impatiently at his brother's shirtsleeve. "Let's go show Mommy what you can do!"

Tey responded enthusiastically to this idea, and they tore off on their tiny, quick little legs to find Katara, leaving Aang standing motionless for a second.

It finally came to him then, the reason behind his unshed tears as Tey had embraced him and thanked him for the promise of Firebending lessons, as his son had shown him his new power with pure delight in his voice and Aang had praised him for it.

It should have been Zuko in his place. And if one terrible twist of fate hadn't occurred, it would have been.

* * *

"Have there been any improvements? Any at all?"

"No, Avatar Aang. Nothing's changed since your last visit. Some of the other physicians…well, there's been talking of having him moved to the asylum."

"No!" Aang wouldn't have that. Not yet. "Just…just give him a little more time. Let me talk to him now."

"As you wish, Avatar Aang," The white-bearded man bowed to him, and marched smartly off back down the corridor, leaving Aang outside the Fire Lord's bedchambers.

Aang didn't watch him go, but turned to face the large, gold-framed doors instead and took a deep breath. It had been nearly a month since he had last tried to speak to his old friend…and he had been horrified by what had occurred then. Surely, _surely,_ things would improve this time.

He knocked on the door, out of habit more than anything else, and swung it open, slowly sliding inside the dark chambers. He shut the door behind him, and turned to face Zuko.

The curtains were closed, all traces of the sun permanently shut out. The room was gloomy and dark, save for a few feeble candles that burned here and there. Aang couldn't help but wince—even the small flames that Tey was producing burned brighter and stronger than the ones here.

The rest of Zuko's chambers were a mess—servants had not been allowed to come in and clean for quite some time now. Clothes, books and other assorted objects lay scattered about the room in such a cluttered, hodge-podge mess, that Aang knew, had Mai still been alive, she would have suffered a heart attack on the spot.

The bed was a rumpled mass of sheets and pillows—but there was still a lump amongst the muddle that Aang knew to be Zuko. He gingerly made his way across the room, and accidentally trod on something soft. Upon looking down, he realized it was a stuffed dragon—a gift he and Katara have given to Ryu when he was just a baby. Without thinking about it, he reached down and plucked the toy up before daring to venture closer.

"Zuko?" He asked quietly, stretching out a hand. The lump did not respond—so Aang dared to rest a hand on what he knew was the curve of the Fire Lord's back. The lump twitched—and the covers were thrown back.

Aang hastily moved aside as Zuko sat up, and did his best not to gasp in horror when he caught sight of the Fire Lord.

As he sank further and further into the worst kind of insanity, the kind that came from blinding, suffocating sorrow, the years had played a cruel game on him. Zuko's hair, once thick, lustrous, and dark now hung paper-thin and ashy-gray, unwashed and unkempt. His face was hollow and gaunt, his scar a thousand times more disfiguring in his decrepit face. Zuko's healthy and well-developed body had wasted into just a few pounds away from skeletal, and his hands were always shaking. But it was not all this, as terrible as they were, that sent the greatest shiver up Aang's spine.

It was Zuko's eyes—even the bad one. They were sunken into his face, tiny pools of gold in the pits of his eyes sockets, and they were always staring—staring, Aang knew, forever and ever at the burned, disfigured corpses of his family.

"Zuko?" Aang asked again, carefully watching his friend. "It's me…it's Aang. I'm here to see you…"

Zuko turned towards his voice, what Aang might have considered a positive sign, had the shell of the Fire Lord not caught sight of the toy in his arms.

"Ryu!" He cried, suddenly yanking the stuffed dragon out of Aang's arms and holding it to himself. "So…so _that's_ where you've been!"

Aang felt his heart sink low in his chest. "No…Zuko, that's not-"

"We…we should go find your mother," Zuko decided, getting to his slightly wobbly feet.

"Zuko," Aang bit his lip, but decided to be firm. "Mai's gone; she's been dead for six years now-"

"NO!" Zuko shouted, whipping around to face Aang so fast that the Avatar instinctively recoiled. Something had caught fire inside of his friend; the flames in the candles around them suddenly surged to an oddly sputtering, yet still fearsome height, and the Fire Lord's sunken eyes were blazing.

"Why does everyone lie?" Zuko demanded to no one in particular, thrusting the stuffed dragon aside. "Mai…Mai…she's _here_…"

"She's not," Aang shook his head, watching Zuko edgily. "Zuko, please…you need to understand that."

The Avatar watched his friend's eyes fill up as he swayed on the spot, what little part of his mind that remained sane no doubt trying to click into place, but to no avail.

"She's here!" Zuko insisted, his voice turning anguished as his legs gave out and he collapsed on the floor. "She was here, she was here, she was just here…" Great, fat tears were leaking out of his eyes and spilling down his ruined face now as he clutched onto a bed sheet that had been kicked off onto the floor.

Aang's own eyes stung as he watched the sight before him. Zuko was keening, wailing away for a dead woman who had ripped his soul out when she had been torn from the world. He found that he had no idea what to do, no idea what to say or what actions to perform that could bring his friend back from the dark, twisted road that he had been lost on.

He doubted that he ever would.


	7. Chapter 5

_This serves as yet another insight into Tey's life with Aang and Katara, and focuses a good deal on the bond he forms with his adoptive father. This also sets up the concept of older!Tey, which is whom the rest of the story is going to be told from/focusing on. I hope this it doesn't come off as too slow._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

After many more desperate attempts to reach out to Zuko, all of which were in vain, Aang decided to turn the feelings of despair and sorrow that always clung to him after his visits into something positive, into something productive.

Instead of falling into Katara's arms and letting her hold him as he fought back tears, or taking a long, long walk around the Temple away from his family, he channeled all the negative feeling in him and twisted it around, turning it into a kind of positive energy that only further increased his love for Tey, that only deepened his adoration for the little boy who had effortlessly become a part of his life and his heart.

Katara tried to warn him every so often about what sort of consequences getting too attached to the boy would yield.

"You know the Fire Sages are going to send for him someday," She reminded her husband when they were alone in the privacy of their bedroom and their children were asleep. "They haven't given us a definite date…but it could be soon. It could be any day now. And when they take him, it's going to break your heart."

Aang couldn't deny this—she was right. However, she was forgetting to mention one crucial detail.

"It'll break your heart too," He pointed out quietly, and he watched as she squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them again, they were swimming with tears.

"Yes…" She admitted, burying her face in his shoulder and letting the tears flow freely down her face. "It will."

* * *

As Tey grew, so did his prowess with the art of Firebending. Aang educated his son with all the knowledge that he had received from the dragons, teaching him the _true_ meaning of the ability that he possessed and instructing him in a way that he hoped Zuko would have approved of.

The two oftentimes rose at dawn, just as the sun was beginning to rise in the sky, and meditated, which Aang still diligently practiced. At first, Tey complained of being bored and often shifted restlessly around, refusing to mimic the crossed-legs position that Aang had assumed, and every so often breaking the silence by asking if they could learn some Firebending moves now. Every time Tey made a sound, Aang restarted the meditation time, much to the little boy's displeasure. Gradually, he learned of something that Zuko himself never had much at all—patience.

From up until he was about ten, Aang taught him only the most basic of all Firebending moves. This was not because he was worried about his son's safety, though this way have contributed to _some_ of it. Rather, he had learned a thing or two from his wife, who had spent years simply practicing the Waterbending basics over and over again before moving on to more advanced techniques—and she had picked them up quickly, almost effortlessly, because of her background training. Aang wanted to incorporate the same thing with his son's lessons.

Though at first Tey had been displeased with his father's instructions to repeat the same basic move over and over again, it was not long before he fell into the habit, and thereby gathered some more life lessons—endurance and persistence. Slow and steady would always win the race.

As they were raised both in an Air Temple and by the last surviving Airbender, all of Aang and Katara's children grew up with a great deal of Air Nomad philosophies, Tey included. Tenzin decided to become a vegetarian when he was twelve, just like his father, and although Zuko's son never walked down that road, he too believed that all life was indeed sacred, and had always nursed a fondness for animals.

That being said, as many things as Tey picked up from his adoptive father, there were a great deal of things that he had inherited from his birth one, traits that he would never know came from another man. Whenever he thrust his chin out, Aang would double-take, certain that what he was actually looking at was a tiny copy of Zuko himself. Perhaps it was because he was the oldest child, but Tey also had a way of domineering, of proving himself to be a sort of beacon for a legion of followers (in this case, his little siblings) and was also highly charismatic, even at a young age. His sense of humor was identical to that of his mother's—Aang and Katara could only guess that instinct had prevailed in him on that one.

And above all else, he truly _looked_ like his birth parents. By the time he was fifteen, any outsider to the family would have been able to identify 'the odd one out' with ease. He was as inconspicuous as a tigerdillo among a cluster of turtleducks.

By that time, he was also well on his way to becoming a Master Firebender. Aang had never seen Zuko's training in the art, but he doubted that he had mastered it any quicker than his son had. It wasn't long before all of his little siblings began begging for him to show them his new tricks, to make the fire dance before their delighted eyes. He was always willing to compile.

"You know…" Katara remarked to Aang as she watched Tey create rings of flames to entertain his siblings, "All that attention is going to go right to his head."

"I think it already has."

* * *

There was only one time a year that Tey could remember ever seeing his parents cry intentionally and without restraint.

One day was a day that everyone in the entire world knew about—the brutal triple murder of the Fire Lady Mai and her two young sons. It was a scar on the Fire Nation's history, a day that was set aside for mourning, for the entire royal family had been lost in that one fateful event.

Tey knew that his parents had been good friends with the Fire Lord and Lady—and he also knew that the Fire Lord was insane now, locked up in his chambers and shut away from the rest of the world.

"I feel bad for him," Tenzin confided to his twin in a low voice. Their parents had gone to bed early, no doubt to mourn the loss, however long ago it had been, in quieter quarters. The two boys shared a room, even though they were fifteen now, and always had.

"Who?" Tey asked, looking up at the dark ceiling.

"The Fire Lord," Tenzin explained, sitting up in bed. "I mean…he was Dad's best friend, once. And he was a great man. But that…that day…it tore him up, I reckon."

"Why in the world is he still Fire Lord?" Tey couldn't help but blurt out the question, and he could almost hear Tenzin's barely-suppressed gasp.

"Why would you even say that Tey?" He demanded, sounding almost fearful of his brother's health.

Tey sat up as well, turning to look at Tenzin. In the moonlight streaming in from their window, the contrast between the two boys was remarkable. Tenzin was short, slight, and had inherited his father's mop of hair, wide face, and big eyes and ears. Tey was, in contrast, a miniature Zuko, just with deliberate mistakes—Mai's nose, her eye color, her high cheekbones.

"Because," He explained, "It seems a bit stupid to leave an entire nation up in the air like that. The Fire Lord's obviously unfit to rule. Why didn't they just hire someone else for the job?"

"I dunno, Tey…" Tenzin sighed, flopping back down on his back. "Maybe they couldn't find anyone."

"Or maybe it's just poor management," Tey suggested, also curling back up on his bed.

There was a brief pause as the two mulled over his words, before little snorts of mirth began to escape from their tightly-clamped lips. In a moment, they couldn't hold it back—they each laughed themselves hoarse.

* * *

"Do you hear them?" Aang lifted his head up, directing the question towards his wife, who lay beside him.

"I told you it was time they had separate rooms," Katara said quietly, her voice still a little wobbly. She had been trying to hold back her sobs all day, and had only let them flow free once she was in the vicinity of her bedroom with her husband.

Aang wrapped his arms around her, giving her a light, yet comforting squeeze.

"It's just hard…" Katara admitted, wiping at her eyes again. "To think that…fifteen years ago today, something like that happened…"

"I know…" Aang sighed, rubbing her back soothingly. "But…but some good came out of the day too. We have Tey now."

"Yes," Katara managed a weak, somewhat watery smile. "We do…and I wouldn't trade him for the world. But Aang…he's almost sixteen now. How much longer do you think it'll be before the Fire Sages demand he returns?"

The Avatar was silent for a moment, the thoughts and worries that had flitted around in his mind for years now marching up to the forefront of his brain and taking root there, unwilling to budge. He pondered for a minute or two, before finally heaving another sigh as he concluded:

"I'm not sure, Katara. But it can't be too much longer now."

"I was afraid of that…" She whispered, and buried her face in his chest. Even with this action, he could still hear her tiny, terrified little sobs. They matched the ones he was shedding inside his heart.


	8. Chapter 6

The morning in of Tey's sixteenth birthday dawned sunny and warm. Tey was woken up abruptly by a small, yet forceful little body jumping on top of him and shrieking loudly, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TEY!"

He sat up quickly, causing the little person to slide to the side with a squeal. He rubbed his bleary eyes a few times before his vision came into focus, and he caught proper sight of the tiny, dark-haired little girl sitting in front of him and beaming.

"Happy Birthday, Tey!" She repeated once more, her stubby arms encircling him and giving him quite a fierce hug for someone only eight years old and as tiny as she was.

Amaya was Tey's youngest sister, and like most of the other children, her name held a special meaning. Katara had specifically chosen it for her youngest daughter because of the shorter, one-syllable name inside of it: the name of a friend long since gone, of whom the Water Tribe woman wanted to honor in one of the few ways she had left now.

Tey had his parents talk about the Fire Lady, from her dry wit to her exotic beauty to her skills with knives. Fire Lord Zuko had adored her, and with good reason, or so it seemed to Tey. The little girl who had been named after Mai was loved just as much as the Fire Lady had been. Since she was Aang's youngest daughter, there was a certain attachment that he had to her that he simply did not with the other children. Besides that, she was also the only Airbender of the three girls that Aang and Katara had produced, creating another bond between parent and child.

She was a dainty little girl, all big blue eyes, a complexion like her father's, and a wave of black hair, perhaps not quite as bushy as her mother's notorious mane. She was beaming now, her arms still loosely wrapped around her elder brother's torso.

"Thanks, 'Maya…" Tey had to smile despite his annoyance at being jarred awake in such a fashion. "And 'good morning' to you too…"

"Mama's making pancakes," Amaya informed him in a rather business-like fashion.

Tey could smell them now—Amaya had left the bedroom door open when she had burst in, and the scent of delicious, golden pancakes had wafted in, flavoring the air with its warm, buttery scent.

"I bet she's making a big batch of fruit tarts for later," Tenzin, who Tey had not seen waking up, now lifted his head off of his pillow and grinned at his brother.

"I hope…" Tey halfway groaned, forgetting almost instantly about the pancake smell as he conjured the image of hot, juicy fruit tarts in his head.

"They're Tey's favorites!" Amaya supplied. "And Mama doesn't make them all the time…they're _special."_

"If she made them all the time, Tey would weigh about as much as Appa does," Tenzin snickered. Tey seized ahold of the closest object, his pillow, and threw it with all his might at his brother. Almost lazily, Tenzin shot a burst of wind at it—the pillow instead soared through the air and smacked their unfortunate mother in the face right as she was strolling in the door.

_"Tenzin!"_ She shrieked, once she had recovered from the initial shock.

"It wasn't my fault, Mom!" Tenzin insisted, sitting up in alarm. "Tey's the idiot who went and threw it at me."

"You started it," Tey rolled his eyes.

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Not."

"Too."

"Not."

"You wanna start something?"

"Boys!" Katara snapped over Amaya's giggling before Tenzin could issue a challenge. _"Enough…_ it was just a pillow. Both of you need to get up and get dressed. Aunt Toph is stopping by today."

"What about Uncle Sokka?" Tey asked as he rolled out of bed, bumping Tenzin's shoulder with his as his brother did the same, letting him know their quarrel was over—their 'fights', if that what they could be labeled as, were never serious and didn't get any more intense than a wrestling match in most cases.

"He told me he wasn't going to be able to make it," Katara apologized to her oldest son. "He's overseeing some larger construction project back in the South Pole, and he can't just up and leave now. He and Aunt Suki send their fondest birthday wishes though—Uncle Sokka says next time we visit, he can hold a proper 'coming of age' ceremony for you."

"Great…." Tey groaned, as Tenzin chortled. Uncle Sokka could be so over the top about things sometimes…

"Get dressed, you two," Katara repeated her command as Amaya trotted over to her mother and clung onto her hand. "Breakfast is almost ready."

The day began a delightful one—after a superb breakfast (in which Aang, Tey, and Tenzin all held a spirited pancake-eating content, egged on by all of the younger children as Katara shook her head), Aunt Toph, Uncle Duke (it was strange to call him Uncle _'The' _Duke, as much as he insisted on using that crucial article in his name), and their children arrived.

"Happy birthday, kid," Toph embraced her 'nephew' in a bone-cracking hug. "I remember when you were smaller than I was…those were nice days, weren't they?"

"I really don't remember them," Tey reflected, grinning at his favorite aunt, who was significantly shorter than he was. "Wasn't I about five when that changed?"

Toph laughed, undeniable affection for him surging through her veins as she tightly hugged him once more. "You know something, Tey? You're all right…"

The Duke, meanwhile, was trying to keep watch over his five children, the youngest of whom was three. They ran about the Air Temples like curious puppies, sticking their noses into everything and trying to climb up on Appa. The sky bison didn't even seem to notice the little ones, as indifferent as a large dog is to a small colony of fleas swarming onto it—until they start biting.

"Look Daddy! Look at me!" Hayate, the dark-haired boy in the set of fraternal twins that Toph and The Duke had had, swung by his little hands from one of Appa's horns. The sky bison, for his part, didn't seem to notice.

"That's nice, Hayate," The Duke, who had grown into a tall, rangy man remarked, not taking his eyes off of Emiko, his littlest little girl, as she tottered around the place on unsteady, but quick little feet.

"You're not even looking!"

"Yes, I am."

Tey glanced around at all of them as Toph went to join her husband, from their little brood to his own family, and felt his heart swell with love and affection for everyone that was present. He had spent every day of his sixteen years with these people, and he couldn't imagine a life without them.

* * *

Aang looked away from the chattering group of adults, teenagers, and children and glanced up towards the bright blue sky, the sun shining brightly away as if in celebration of Tey's birthday as well.

It was then that he saw it—a tiny dot soaring through the air and flying right for the Temple. He squinted, trying to bring the strange object into focus.

"What's the matter, Aang?" Katara came up behind him, looking confused at his equally puzzled expression.

She did not receive an answer—as the object grew closer, Aang spotted that it was a bird, but not just any bird. Flying towards them was a messenger hawk—the method of communication that the Fire Nation preferred to use.

News was coming—and if the sinking feeling in Aang's heart was accurate, it could not be anything worth celebrating at all.


	9. Chapter 7

Aang outstretched a trembling arm, and the hawk swooped down from the sky to land there. It was heavier than he would have thought, and he nearly buckled under the weight. The hawk clicked its beak imperiously, as if telling him to get a move on.

"Aang…" Katara stared at the Fire Nation insignia emblazed on the carrying case strapped to the bird's back and swallowed. "That's…is that…"

"It might not necessarily be a letter from the Fire Sages," Aang said quickly, his heart thudding in his chest. "Perhaps…"

"Open it," Katara urged him quietly.

Aang glanced at her once, and she took his free hand, giving it a squeeze once, before letting go so he could remove the scroll from its carrying case.

"Not here," Aang insisted to her, turning away. "Let's…let's go to our room."

Katara understood where he was coming from—Tey was only so many yards away, talking to The Duke as the older man's youngest children attempted to use Aang and Katara's son as their new playground now, having been scared away from Appa by one of the sky bison's infamous sneezes.

Tey was enduring their assault with good humor, laughing as the littlest boy finally succeeded in scrambling onto his back, firmly latching his arms around his neck.

Katara felt her arms prick with sudden tears at the sight, and she nodded, following her husband down the hallway and into the privacy of their bedroom. Once there, they both sat on the edge of the bed, and Aang carefully extracted the message from its carrying case, handling it as tentatively as he would a column of live flame.

The hawk flapped its wings, and flew off of Aang's arm to settle down on their dresser instead, watching the couple with its beady, dark eyes.

Unable to conceal the fact that his fingers were trembling, Aang unfurled the message. He wet his lips and opened his mouth to read out loud, but his voice refused to escape him. Katara glanced at him, and bent her head down so she could see the message and read it instead.

_Avatar Aang,_

_The time has come._

Katara would have read more—but those four words, those four simple, monosyllabic words twisted at her heart in such a way that she cried out, her hand flying to cover her mouth. Aang wrapped a comforting arm around her, before holding the message out in front of them so both of them could read it, in silence this time.

_Avatar Aang,_

_The time has come. The boy turned sixteen years old today; scarcely any younger than his father was when he took the throne. It is time for the prince to return to his true home and embark on the training we have set up to educate him in all his duties as Fire Lord, as he was not raised in such a setting where they were taught to him daily._

_The Sages have assumed, given his parents, that Prince Teyaki has grown into a strong, smart young man. Boys such as this do not like to be ordered what to do, but this is a matter of utmost urgency, as you know. You must explain the necessity of the situation to him, and explain his real birthright. There are no other options._

_We await your response by hawk. Once you have replied, a further plan of action will be decided upon._

At the bottom of the message, the Fire Nation symbol was stamped, a marker to indicate that the Fire Sages had all composed and sent this letter, this letter that was single-handedly pulling Aang's heart out by the roots.

Genuine tears were shining in his wife's eyes now, as she turned her gaze to look at him.

"We…we have to tell him, don't we?"

Aang did not respond. But he crumpled the paper in his fist, his hand shaking as it clenched, and Katara knew what his answer was.

* * *

Sai was late for the meeting, too late for the meeting. It had been called in utmost urgency, and he had only get the message as he was settling down for dinner with his family.

What could it possibly be about? The last near-fifteen years had been blissful ones, spent under the rule of an incompetent, insane Fire Lord who barely removed himself from his rooms, let alone governed an entire nation. Just where their alliance had planned to go from here, just what their next step was, Sai had no idea. Perhaps that was what this little rendezvous was being held for.

"You're late, Sai," The oldest man sitting at the table snarled when he slipped in through the door. Sai held back a shiver—despite his age; Shu was still one of the most frightening men he had ever encountered. Those dark eyes of his watched him like a snake as he settled down into the only free chair.

"I didn't get the message until later," Sai defend himself stiffly, aware of a good deal many eyes looking at him with annoyance.

"It is of no matter," Shu spoke coolly. "We are here concerning a rather _different_ message that was sent only yesterday."

He turned to the man sitting next to him, a thin, weedy looking character who kept nervously wetting his lips, eyes darting from one man at the table to the next.

"Gentlemen, this is Hiro," Shu waved his hand at the man next to him. "He works as a servant at the palace, but more importantly…he works as a spy for me. And he has some very…_interesting _news to share with all of us."

The heat of a great deal many eyes scorching him did little to ease Hiro's nerves, but he sat up a little straighter in his chair as he spoke in a voice as reedy as he was, "I was outside the council room that the Fire Sages decided to call a meeting in yesterday morning. It was a bit tricky to hear all that was going on inside, but I managed to pick up bits here and there…mentions of the Prince Teyaki, several times at least."

"There is no Prince Teyaki anymore," A heavily scarred man chuckled. "He and the other princes all perished fifteen years ago. Isn't that right, Natsuo?"

Natsuo, fifteen years older and grayer than he had been the time he and these men sat around this very table and plotting the very death of the afore-mentioned prince, leaned forward. He did not answer.

"Go on, Hiro," Shu urged the other man on, his steely gaze never once leaving his slightly-sweaty face.

The servant gulped, but carried on with his story. "The Sages left the room…and although they looked ready to deliver the message themselves, one of them decided that, since I was there, I might as well do it for them. They forbade me to look at, had it bound in a rope in everything, and told me to deliver it by messenger hawk to the Avatar."

He cast his eyes downward as he confessed, "I dared to steal a quick glance at it later, once I was away from them. I knew the information it contained would probably prove useful to this group. And I was correct…"

He lifted his gaze back up as he declared, "From what I gathered, the Prince Teyaki is still alive, and living with the Avatar, as no doubt has been for the past fifteen years. The Fire Sages wrote the Avatar to tell him it was time the long-lost prince returned to take over the throne in his father's stead."

The reaction inside the tiny room was positively electric. Some men let out furious cries of outrage; others simply gawked in shock, unable to believe the news. Shu merely let them flail and shout for a few moments, before raising a hand for silence.

Once the men had settled down, the old man folded his hands and remarked in a would-be casual voice, "This piece of news struck me as particularly interesting, Natsuo…I thought you told me, all those years ago, that you had eliminated _every_ member of the royal family."

"I had," Natsuo met Shu's without flinching. "Teyaki was but a baby at the time, and not to mention, tucked indoors with General Iroh. You know full well it would have been insane of me to attempt a one-man break-in of the palace merely to murder a baby."

There was a ripple of talk at Natsuo's bold statement, but Shu didn't seem taken aback in the slightest. Rather, he gritted his rotten teeth as he hissed, "All of us have a great deal more to worry about than our _sanity _due to your mistake, Natsuo. This boy…as young and as incompetent as he is, is the only hope our weak nation has left. With him, all of his father's beliefs would become upholded once more, the ruined bloodline once again brought into power…it is an outrage, a stain against our once-proud nation!"

His words, as always, did not fail to capture the other men, all of whom sat listening in silence as the old man carried on.

"We must act quickly, my brothers. There is no time to lose. The Avatar will no doubt respond with the utmost care to the Sages. Hiro, it is up to you to somehow intercept that letter, or at the very least, discover its contents. It is too risky to wait for the boy to arrive in the Fire Nation—we need to need out his location before he arrives here, his home as of now. Once his whereabouts are revealed, I will hold another meeting…there will be [i]much[/i] to discuss."

The meeting broke up, men whispering to one another in outraged hisses as they departed in droves. Before long, the only four men left in the room were Shu, Hiro, Natsuo, and Sai.

"Sai…" Shu turned to him as he asked, "I trust that you still have your…old skills about you?"

"Of course."

"His…skills?" Even Natsuo looked alarmed. "Shu, you can't possibly be sending Sai…"

"You are the man who burned two children and a woman until the flesh peeled off of their charred bones," Shu spoke coldly. "Surely, you would agree Sai's methods aren't quite as brutal as _that?_ And even if they were…it would not be your place to say so. Your error is the reason Sai's talents are needed in the first place."

Natsuo fell silent, but there was an ugly look on his scarred face.

Sai however, got to his feet, looking rather smug.


	10. Chapter 8

_A/N: I apologize if this chapter is poorly edited...it's late. XD_

_Reviews are appreciated!_

* * *

Tey was not sure for just how long he laid on the temple floor, nothing but the dull beating of his heart and the ache in his head to keep him company. His mouth felt disgusting, almost as if he had thrown up earlier.

His mind grew numb after a while, and the desire to get up, or even move ever again, simply wasn't present inside of him. It might be nice, he found himself thinking, to curl up and fall asleep, to fall asleep and wake up only to realize it all had been a terrible dream. And if he could not have that much—perhaps he could drift off and never once wake up again.

Tey must have fallen asleep, just at what time, he wasn't sure. He could have easily lain there all night—had someone not jarred him awake.

"Tey! _Tey!"_

A familiar voice was hissing in his hair, jostling him none too gently by the shoulder. He sat up instinctively, letting out a hoarse yelp of surprise as he did so.

He blinked a few times, trying to clear his mind, and rubbed at his eyes furiously. Once his vision came back into focus, he gave a start. Kneeling before him was Tenzin, his eyes wide in the dark around him. If it hadn't been for the half moon behind them, he might have been invisible.

"Tenzin!" Tey squawked, not bothering to try and conceal his shock. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard you and Mom and Dad talking…" Tenzin explained quietly, his eyes carefully downcast. "And I only just now summoned the nads to come and try to talk to you."

"You _heard_ all that?" Tey held back a groan as he too lowered his gaze, unable to fully look him in the eyes. For so long, he had believed Tenzin to be his flesh and blood brother…looking at him now would trigger an even deeper feeling of loss and despair inside of him, and he was simply not ready for that yet.

"Tey, you were shouting so loud, I thought the spirits could have heard it," Tenzin smile bitterly, none of his usual bright warmth in the bitter gesture.

"I see…" Tey leaned back on his hands and felt heat rise on his face—he was ashamed at his actions now, mortified of just how he had behaved…and the fact that Tenzin had overheard the whole thing only made it a thousand times worse.

"All of that…" Tenzin swallowed hard, before shaking his head from side to side. "Tey, that was…never in a hundred years would I have guessed…I just can't believe…"

"Yeah," Tey glared in the opposite direction, already feeling rage beginning to boil in the pit of his stomach. "I can't believe it either."

Tenzin swallowed again, chewing on his bottom lip for a moment, before finally asking in a smaller, more tentative voice, "What…what are you going to do now?"

The question, so simple in words but so strong in meaning, threw Tey for a loop. He froze, mind racing. What _was_ he going to do? By the sounds of it, the Fire Sages would be coming for him in due time…and he could not, simply could _not,_ let _that_ happen. But what other choice did he have?

He could not go quietly into the life he had never known he had waiting for him, he just couldn't. Just hours ago, he had been Tey, the oldest son of Avatar Aang and his wife Katara. He had been a boy surrounded by the love of his family, happy to be celebrating his sixteenth birthday. Now, he was a long-lost prince, an heir to a broken throne…and the only true family he had left in the world was a man sitting on a throne of insanity, a man who, for all he knew, didn't know that his youngest son was still alive.

He buried his face in his hands, trying his hardest not to break down. It was too much to take in in too little a time…but he could not, and _would not,_ embrace this new life he was expected to lead with open arms. But what other choice did he have?

Suddenly it hit him, like a fist to the stomach. It was not a noble idea…it was not even what could be considered a 'good' idea. But it was his only other option.

He looked up, meeting Tenzin's gaze for the first time. "I'm going to run away."

His voice shook a little when he said—but there was no taking them back now. The fire within him had flared to life at his words, and he nearly shivered at the sensation.

"Run…run _away?"_ Tenzin ogled at him as if he had never heard of anything more insane. "To _where?"_

"Anywhere," Tey responded, the answer coming naturally to him. "Anywhere, as long as it's away from here and the Fire Nation."

"Tey...you can't just…up and leave like that!"

"Watch me," Tey snapped, his voice harsh. He got to his feet and turned, ready to head into his room…and begin packing for the journey that had hit him in a flash, but he now realized he had to take.

He was a few feet away when he heard it—the sound of Tenzin scrambling to his feet.

"Ten, don't try and change my mind…it won't work," He called back to him.

"I wasn't going to try and change your mind," Tenzin insisted from behind him, his voice hard. "Once your mind is set, it's set, Tey. I know that better than anyone else. What I wanted to let you know…is that I'm going with you."

Tey froze in his tracks. He stood rooted to the spot for a moment, quite sure that he had lost the ability to breathe once again, before whipping around to face his brother.

"No."

_"Yes,"_ Tenzin said in a remarkably calm but firm voice. "I'm not letting you do this on your own, Tey. We've been together for everything else in our lives…why should this be any different?"

"It's kind of personal, Tenzin," Tey said through slightly gritted teeth. Truth be told though, he was inwardly reeling from his brother's bold statement. "I wasn't planning on bringing a tag-along."

"Look, you're not doing this because the spirits told you to or you need to save someone's life or redeem your honor…you're doing this, ultimately, because you're scared. No one knows you better than I do, Tey…and you can't do this alone."

Tey stared at him, at the young with home he had lived his entire life together with, the young man who could have been his fraternal twin, who knew him better than he knew himself at times. Tenzin did not want to come because he believed in what Tey was doing…he wanted to come along because he knew that, no matter what, Tey was going to need someone. And there was no one better for the job than him.

"Tenzin…I…" To his horror, Tey found himself choking up a bit, a sudden onslaught of emotion overcoming him.

"Shut up," Tenzin muttered, but he embraced Tey tightly for a moment. "Did you really think you could just walk away with you me, you idiot?"

Tey had to chuckle, for the first time in hours now, as he hugged Tenzin fiercely back. "No…it was a bit stupid of me to assume otherwise."

"Too right, it was…" Tenzin pulled away. "Now come on…let's get packed."

About fifteen minutes later, the two reconvened outside once more, each carrying the bare minimum of what they would need in their separate backs.

"Ten," Tey turned to him as he was shouldering his bag. "Are you _sure_ about this? What are Mom and Dad (he winced at the words, but shoved past them) going to think when they see _two_ of their sons are gone?"

"Mom and Dad…" Tenzin hesitated for a minute, swallowing once before declaring, "Mom and Dad will at least know that we left together. And I left them a note—I did my best to explain. They would know…that anywhere you went, I would come with you."

Tey only nodded wordlessly, afraid that if he tried to speak, he would say something stupid. However, a problem that he had not foreseen before struck him in that moment, and he cursed.

"What's the matter?" Tenzin frowned at him.

"Just how exactly are we going to leave?" Tey demanded. "We can't take Appa. And we can't exactly start walking off either…unless you fancy cliff-diving."

"Tey, honestly," Tenzin rolled his gray eyes. "Sometimes, I wonder about you."

Before Tey could snap something, Tenzin had produced, from seemingly nowhere, a long wooden pole. With a snap of his wrist though, it sprung to life—and revealed itself as the glider that Teo, their parents' inventor friend, had built for him a time ago.

"We'll take my glider until we find land," Tenzin explained. "It's a good thing you're not afraid of heights…"

"It's a good thing you're coming with me," Was all Tey had to say.

He wound up climbing on top of Tenzin's glider, before the young Airbender kicked off. They nearly plummeted for a minute, the combined weight of their bodies sending them downwards—but Tenzin readjusted them with the wind, and sent them flying off on a much smoother course.

As the Air Temple behind them grew smaller and smaller, Tey turned his head around to take one last look at the place he had called home his entire life. He was leaving it now for the great unknown, plunging headfirst into what could possibly be one of the stupidest and most reckless decisions ever made.

But Tenzin was with him. Even though the spirits only knew what lay in store for him, his brother was at his side. Right now, that was all that mattered.

* * *

Aang awoke before Katara did the next morning. He had not slept well at all—after a promise to his wife to give Tey a night to 'cool down' before talking to him again in the morning, he had tossed and turned for over an hour before sleep finally claimed him.

He got to his feet, stretched, and started to walk to his closet to pull out his clothes for the day—but a scroll, tightly rolled up and resting on the nightstand, caught his attention before he completed the journey.

Something inside of him gave way in that moment. He did not pick it up, but the feeling of dread that had overcame him and the intuition of a father both carried him out into the hallway.

"TEY!" He pushed open the door to his son's room, only to find it empty.

"TEY! TEY!"

He pivoted and ran into the kitchen, screaming his son's name, circling the main temple floor once before wrenching open Tenzin's bedroom door.

"Tenzin, have you seen-?"

The room was as empty as Tey's was.

"No…_no…"_ The words trembled from Aang's lips, and he made another mad dash around the temple, calling out in desperation for his two sons.

"Aang!" Katara rushed over to him, her eyes wide, the scroll Aang had not read clutched tightly in her hand. "Aang…where's Tey and Tenzin? Tenzin's glider…it's not in his room! And this note…I didn't read it, but-"

Aang didn't answer. He turned his back to his wife, and stared up at the wide, empty blue sky, silent tears rolling down his face.

"Daddy?" Little Amaya emerged and walked up to him, her hair a bird's nest and her eyes curious. "Where did Tey and Tenzin go?"

Katara let out a small gasp and her hand flew to her mouth. The scroll in her hand fell out of her weak grasp and to the floor, where it made a noise as loud as thunder in Aang's mind.

"They…they left, sweetheart…they went away…" Aang tried to explain to her over the sounds of his heart shattering in his chest and his mind falling to pieces.

"Oh…" Amaya frowned, not quite putting two and two together. "So…when will they be back?"

Her question was what caused him to snap. He fell to his knees and began to sob, the most heart aching sounds of pure misery and sorrow.


End file.
